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Resolution Establishing County Policies for Permit Processing

WHEREAS, the people of the County of Santa Cruz Adopted by vote in 1978, a comprehensive growth management and environmental protection system; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors has implemented such a growth management system through a variety of ordinances, regulations, and policies; and

WHEREAS, the concepts of growth management and environmental protection continue to be critically important for and broadly supported by our community; and

WHEREAS, it is equally important that the permit processing system which, in part, implements growth management and environmental protection policies, be as broadly supported as the policies themselves; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors has undertaken an aggressive program of reforming the permit processing system of the Santa Cruz County Planning Department; and

WHEREAS, the permit processing reform effort has resulted in measurable improvements in the system; and

WHEREAS, more progress needs to be made concerning permit processing reform, and the Board of Supervisors is taking actions to achieve such progress; and

WHEREAS, an essential element of a meaningful permit processing reform effort is for the County to provide clear and helpful information to applicants for permits; and

WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the people of the County of Santa Cruz to now set forth policies for the processing of permit applications by the County of Santa Cruz in a manner which will have the effect of upholding all of the policies of growth management and environmental protection, while, at the same time establishing a reliable set of permit processing guidelines;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Cruz that the following policies are hereby adopted for the processing of permit applications by the County of Santa Cruz:

  1. An applicant is to be provided with complete information concerning the process which will be followed regarding the application, including specific steps in the process and estimated time frames for each step;
  2. An applicant is to receive at the earliest possible time all of the elements required by the County of Santa Cruz which would constitute a complete application;
  3. An applicant is to be provided with clear and specific criteria which will be used by the County of Santa Cruz in making decisions pertaining to the application;
  4. An applicant is to be provided with information concerning any and all appeals processes available concerning decisions made by the County of Santa Cruz which relate to the application;
  5. An applicant is to be entitled to request and be provided with a single point of contact for processing the application;
  6. An applicant is to be provided, at the earliest possible time, with notice regarding any delays in processing the application beyond the time frames established by the County of Santa Cruz for processing the permit.